Uncovering Her Nine Month Secret

And now something more. Something new he’d called me for the first time.

My heart...

We made love once more, hot, hard and fast—and good thing about that last bit, because thirty seconds after we’d both collapsed in a sweaty, gasping heap on top of each other, I heard an indignant cry from the nursery.

We looked at each other and laughed.

“I’ll get him,” I said, starting to rise from the bed.

“No.” He put his hand on my shoulder, pressing me back against the soft sheets, and rose from the bed, pulling on a white terry-cloth robe over his hard-muscled body. “You got up last time. Relax. Go take a shower. Take your time.”

I came out, hot and clean and pink-cheeked and happy. I got dressed in a soft pink shirt and skirt, and fed the baby as my husband had a shower in his turn.

This was just as I’d always dreamed. No. It was better. Just the three of us...

For now.

My hand slowly fell on my belly. I want to fill you with my child. Was I afraid? Yes. But did I also want, desperately want, another baby? Also yes.

So much had changed since the last time I was pregnant. Instead of being a fearful fugitive, I was married now. Settled. With a home.

Would it be so wrong to just let myself be happy? Alejandro was a good father. He was proving to be a good husband. He wanted to take care of me forever. He wanted us to be a family. And the way he made love to me... I shuddered at the memory of ecstasy.

Would it be so forbidden, so foolish, to trust my husband with my heart?

If only I knew the lie he was telling me, or had told, or would tell. He said he’d been faithful to me for a year, that he’d never be disloyal.

Of course, that could be the lie....

My lips pressed together, and I grimly pushed the thought away. I told myself that, since he’d shared so much of his body, surely he’d soon find it irresistible to share the secrets of his heart. And then I forced myself not to think about it.

Denial is a beautiful thing. A woman in love can be very good at focusing on the rose and ignoring the thorn—at least until it draws blood. Over breakfast, I kept smiling at Alejandro over my plate of eggs and jamón, my coffee diluted with tons of cream and sugar. And instead of treating me like a lovesick fool, as I no doubt looked like, Alejandro, the dark, dangerous, ruthless duke, did the unthinkable.

He kept smiling back.

“I’d like to take you around the estate today,” he said, sipping his black coffee and reading the morning newspaper, “to meet my tenants.”

“What?” I nearly dropped the baby rattle I’d been holding out for Miguel, who was sitting in my lap. Chortling, the baby grabbed it in his fat little fist and triumphantly began to shake. “I thought I’d meet them at the wedding reception.”

“Abuela told me it will take her two months to plan the reception. We cannot wait that long.” His eyes met mine. He seemed to sense my fear, because he gave me an encouraging smile. “You are my wife. It is right that I introduce you to the tenants on the estate. That is the merest good manners.”

“But...”

“Besides. Knowing Abuela, the reception will be a lavish affair, to impress acquaintances and friends. I want the first introduction to be private. Personal.” He paused. “Many of them have been farming this land for generations. They might have heard rumors. They might think that having a baby first, and getting married second, is a little...”

“Modern?” I supplied.

“Yes. Modern. I don’t want them to wonder if this is a real marriage, or if we’ll stand the test of time.”

“Will we?” I whispered.

“We will,” he said seriously, looking straight into my eyes. “And I want them to have no doubt you are here to stay.” Leaning forward, he took my hand in his own. “I want them to think well of you, as I do.” He looked at me. “Will you meet them?”

Having Alejandro look at me with his deep dark eyes, and hold my hand, and ask me something, in his husky voice, there was no possibility of resistance. No matter how the thought of trying to impress a bunch of strangers and convince them I would make an excellent duquesa filled me with dread. What if they thought I wasn’t good enough? What if they had such deep doubts, Alejandro changed his mind about me and decided to find some other wife more worthy? “All right,” I said hesitantly. “If you think it truly necessary.”